Choosing the right parental control software isn’t something that should be done on a whim. It’s best to research thoroughly to make sure that you’re able to protect your children online in a way that suits you. We’ll be looking at Bark and Qustodio, two of the most popular parental control applications on the market. Bark utilizes artificial intelligence to monitor your children’s online social interactions and flag up any potential dangers. While Qustodio offers a more comprehensive approach to all internet activity. Both generate detailed reports of everything they monitor, as well as prevent access to unsuitable apps or websites. On the face of it, both are very compelling solutions, but which one is perfect for you and your children?
| Main Features | Bark | Qustodio |
| Logo |  |  |
| Rating |  |  |
| Reviews | Reviews | Reviews |
| Visit | Visit Site | Visit Site |
| Coupons | Coupons | Coupons |
| Headquarters | Georgia, U.S. | Spain |
| Founded | 2015 | 2012 |
| Languages | EN | EN, ES, FR, DE, JP, CN |
| Extra Services | n/a | n/a |
| Main Features | Bark | Qustodio |
| Profile Limits | Unlimited | 3 |
| Content Filter |  | |
| Website Blocker |  | |
| Pornography Blocker | | |
| Schedule Restriction | | |
| Remote Management | | |
| Browser History | | |
| Keystroke Logger | | |
| Social Media Monitoring | | |
| YouTube Monitoring | | |
| Permission Requests | | |
| Uninstall Protection | | |
| Mobile | Bark | Qustodio |
| Location Tracking | | |
| Geofencing | | |
| App Blocker | | |
| Call Monitoring | | |
| SMS Monitoring | | |
| Battery Monitoring | | |
| Panic Button | | |
| Devices | Bark | Qustodio |
| Windows 10 | | |
| Windows 8 | | |
| Windows 7 | | |
| macOS | | |
| Android | | |
| iOS | | |
| Kindle | | |
| Chromebook | | |
| Pricing | Bark | Qustodio |
| Number of Devices | Unlimited | 15 |
| Lowest Price | $90/yr | Free |
| 1 Year | $90/yr | $64.95 |
| 2 Years | n/a | n/a |
| 3 Years | n/a | n/a |
| Free Trial | 7 days | 3 days |
| Free Version | | |
| Money-Back Guarantee | | 30 days |
| Payment Methods | Bark | Qustodio |
| Visa | | |
| Mastercard | | |
| American Express | | |
| PayPal | | |
| Wire Transfer | | |
| Discover | | |
| Liberty Reserve | | |
| Bitcoin | | |
| Amazon Payments | | |
| Google Checkout | | |
| Customer Support | Bark | Qustodio |
| 24/7 Support | | |
| | |
| Live Chat | | |
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| Community | | |
| On Call | | |
| Remote Desktop | | |
Bark
Based out of Georgia state, Bark is your children’s online watchdog that specializes in monitoring social interactions. Bark is able to read text messages and emails as well as monitor a large number of social networks using its intuitive AI machine learning to alert parents of any dangers. The AI targets signs of cyberbullying, depression, online predators and other issues affecting children online today. Bark has a great track record of this too, claiming to have prevented over 50 potential acts of violence and exposed over a hundred sexual predators in 2018 alone. Unfortunately, Bark doesn’t cover desktops, but its mobile device monitoring is exceptional.
Bark Overview
Filters
Parental Advice
Bark has some fantastic customer service which will guide users through the time-consuming installation process with ease. Although Bark isn’t the cheapest option it is still reasonably priced and represents real value for money when you consider how much coverage it provides. Bark doesn’t offer any refunds or money-back guarantees, but you can make sure that the software is right for you by taking advantage of its seven-day free trial.
Qustodio
Barcelona’s Qustodio boasts over two million users and has been making parents lives’ easier with its online supervision since 2012. Unlike Bark, Qustodio doesn’t have such extensive social media monitoring as it currently is only able to monitor Facebook, but you are given the option to block any undesired apps you choose. One thing Qustodio can do that Bark can’t is monitor desktop computers as well as mobiles. Qustodio’s dashboard shows you exactly how your children spend their time online, their search terms, web history, and total time spent on each activity, leaving no stone unturned.
Activity Summary
Categories
App Blocked
Qustodio’s customer service isn’t quite up to the high standard that Bark sets, but it does have an extensive help section that will guide you through every step of the installation process. Payment for Qustodio differs depending on the number of devices you wish to cover, but for up to five devices covered Qustodio does work out cheaper than Bark. Qustodio also offers a free seven-day trial so you can test out all the features yourself.
Conclusion
Here we have two great parental control applications that will help parents keep their children safe online. Bark is more focused on monitoring your children’s social media activity but is restricted to mobile devices only. Meanwhile Qustodio gives a broader overview of just what your children may be up to online but its social media coverage pales in comparison to Bark’s. Perhaps one thing that may separate them is the price. Bark’s price is consistent for an unlimited number of devices, but smaller families will find they can save money with Qustodio. To really decide depends on what you and your family want to prioritize but no matter which software you choose, your children will have greater protection and you’ll have greater ease of mind.
Best Parental Control Software of 2021
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